Abstract
Although Japanese newspapers used special imperial honorifics for the emperor and his family, their use drastically decreased during the post-World War II Allied Occupation. This study examines the major changes in the use of imperial honorifics and paralinguistics (the length of article's text, accompanying pictures, and arts of calligraphy works) in annual articles marking the emperor's birthday in the Asahi newspaper in the twentieth century. The study also examines the use of imperial honorifics in other national daily newspapers from 1945 to 1946 and explores the reasons behind the major changes in the use of imperial honorifics during the early phase of the Occupation. Furthermore, this study examines censor-reviewed (pre-publication) and published articles about the emperor and his family. It also includes interviews with individuals who might have influenced the newspaper use of imperial honorifics. The results imply that the decrease in honorific use was not part of an official censorship policy but rather that the Japanese censors working under the Occupation forces and newspaper editors might have simplified them on their own initiative.
